Over the last several years, both men and women have been increasingly drawn to the advantages provided by electric dry shavers. In general, the consuming public has found that the use of razors or other systems is extremely inconvenient for removing or shaving short hair or stubble, as commonly found in mens' beards and womens' legs. In addition, with the ever increasing time constraints and commitments individuals typically encounter, a fast and effective shaving system is most desirable.
The discomfort as well as the time consumed in using shaving cream, soaps and gels in order to provide a medium for which a razor can be used, requires more time and inconvenience than most individuals are willing or capable of allowing. Furthermore, the cost of maintaining a sufficient supply of these products creates an additional burden. Consequently, electric dry shavers have become increasingly popular, as well as battery operated electric dry shavers which can withstand exposure to moisture, thereby enabling individuals to simultaneously shower as well as shave either beards or legs.
As the popularity of electric dry shavers increased, various product designs and alternate constructions proliferated, in an attempt to improve and enhance the comfort and cutting efficiency of such shavers. However, in spite of these product changes, difficulties have continued to exist in providing optimum results with optimum comfort.
One particular configuration has been found to be extremely efficacious in achieving high quality shaving results, as well as being extremely comfortable to use. This configuration comprises the various models of electric dry shavers incorporating a movable cutting blade which cooperates with a thin, flexible mesh screen, or apertured foil.
In operation, the cutting blades are rapidly and continuously reciprocatingly moved against one side of the mesh screen or apertured foil, causing the cutting blades to repeatedly cross the plurality of apertures and provide a virtually continuous cutting action at each aperture. Then, by sliding or guiding the other side of the mesh screen or apertured foil over the skin surface to be shaved, the individual hair shafts enter the holes formed in the screen or foil and are cut by the movement of the cutting blades.
Although this dry shaving cutting system has proven to be extremely effective, as compared to other dry shaving products, one area of difficulty does exist. In certain instances, as the mesh screen or apetured foil is moved over the skin surface in order to attain the desired cutting action, the contours of the skin act upon the apertured foil and cause the foil to deflect in various directions. Since the cutting blades are in intimate contact with the opposed side of the apertured foil, the deflection of the foil also causes the cutting blades to be simultaneously deflected therewith.
Unfortunately, at certain times, the apertured foil and the cutting blades do not simultaneously move in completely identical directions and, as a result, the cutting blade is moved out of intimate, contacting, cutting engagement with at least a portion of the surface of the apertured foil. When any such separation occurs, the movement of the cutting blade is incapable of attaining the requisite cutting action against the surface of the apertured foil, causing discomfort to the user.
In an attempt to eliminate this difficulty, most prior art electric dry shavers have mounted the cutting blade assembly in combination with spring means in order to continuously urge the cutting blade assembly into contact with the surface of the apertured foil. Conceptually, this construction was to continuously retain the cutting blade in contact with the apertured foil, regardless of the deflection of the apertured foil and cutting blade assembly during use.
Unfortunately, this prior art construction has been found to be incapable of eliminating the problem. Typically, the cutting blade assembly is constructed as an integral unit and continues to move as a unit. Consequently, under certain circumstances, portions of the surface of the apertured foil become separated from the cutting blades during use. This causes unshaven areas to continue to exist.
In addition, prior art shavers typically employ a single type of apertured foil which best satisfies the needs of users most of the time. However, prior art systems are incapable of providing different hole patterns, or foil constructions on the same shaver. As a result, enhanced comfort and improved shaving capabilities are not attained, and less frequent conditions, such as longer hairs or mixed long and short hairs are not able to be adequately handled.
Consequently, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an enhanced cutting system for electric dry shavers whereby unwanted disassociation of the cutting blade from the mesh screen or apertured foil is prevented.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an enhanced cutting system for electric dry shavers having the characteristic features described above which is capable of providing a plurality of different hole patterns in a single shaver, thereby substantially improving comfort and shaving efficiency, while also providing enhanced and improved results.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an enhanced cutting system for electric dry shavers having the characteristic features described above which is capable of virtually eliminating areas where the shaver is incapable of cutting the desired hair due to the contours of the surface being shaved, or the composition or length of the hair.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an enhanced cutting system for electric dry shavers having the characteristic features described above which virtually eliminates unwanted unshaven areas.
Other and more specific objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.